The only minus for me is Doug never got that great team to Wembley which is a travesty.The 1989 semi v Saints was a fluke but the other two defeats v Oldham and Saints again, were disastrous.A total no show from the team.Sometimes the opposition decided not to be cannon fodder and refused to roll over for us which we quite often struggled to deal with.
The big thing with Dougie, for me at any rate, was the freedom he appeared to give to players that he had chosen, and who he trusted to play the game. Macca was trusted to call the shots and did so to good effect. I remember that Larder wanted the team to play to his orders rather than theirs!
Francis Cummins said Dougie was probably the best coach he had because of the relaxed way he was with the players and the freedom he gave them to play.
Coaches these days are very methodical and that is reflected in the matches you see. Not sure the modern day game would have a place for a Dougie type coach unfortunately.
The only minus for me is Doug never got that great team to Wembley which is a travesty.The 1989 semi v Saints was a fluke but the other two defeats v Oldham and Saints again, were disastrous.A total no show from the team.Sometimes the opposition decided not to be cannon fodder and refused to roll over for us which we quite often struggled to deal with.
Although I rate the late 80s teams as better than the cup kings sides. What was missing that impeded us from getting to Wembley? Was it that we were missing a specialist scrum half to control the games? Or was didn’t we have the defensive solidity to win tight matches? The cup kings team may not have been prettier on the eye but they were a team who know how to win and see out results in cup footy through defence.
I don't think there was anything missing as such,the team was good enough to get to Wembley,no doubt.We had injustice v Wigan with 2 disallowed tries 88 and Saints fluked the 89 semi against 12 men.But for me Oldham in 90 and Saints in 91 and 92 showed more hunger and desire than we did, they played full tilt from the first whistle whilst we tried to warm into those games.
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Saints fluked the 89 semi against 12 men.
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Wasn't that the game where Thack tripped up when he was clear with an open line in front of him ?
Yes, that game.Perhaps a bit unfair to call it a fluke,more like we blew it.Thackeray tripped with an open line just 20 metres ahead of him and in the last seconds the defence stood off Groves allowing him space to get Quirk clear for the corner. A great effort with 12 men but Saints are blessed with late wins.